St. Louis (Mo.) Lutheran North defensive end Ronnie Perkins will be one of the Illini’s top recruiting targets in the class of 2018.

Since grabbing an early offer from Illinois, Perkins has spent a lot of time around the program.

He visited the Illini satellite camp in St. Louis last week, then made a trip to Champaign over the weekend to get the full tour of the campus and facilities. Perkins said he’s building a strong relationship with the Illini coaching staff, including his recruiter Thad Ward.

“I like all of the coaches,” Perkins said. ‘I’m getting really good feedback from them. I like Coach Ward a lot. As soon as we talked, we clicked like we knew each other for years.”

OrangeandBlueNews.com caught up with Perkins early in the day at the Illini showcase camp at Memorial Stadium. He was looking forward to spending more time on campus after the camp and becoming more familiar with the program.

“I just want to see overall atmosphere, the academics, and see some of the players and pick their minds about how they feel about the program,” he said.

Rivals.com got a close look at Perkins at the Rivals Camp Series in Kansas City, where he proved to be a versatile and athletic defender in the agility and positional drills. He was one of the top underclassmen at the event.

On the recruiting trail, the Power 5 offers have been piling up throughout the spring. Perkins now holds offers from Illinois, Missouri, Iowa State, and Iowa.

He camped with Missouri, and has two more visits planned this summer. Perkins also has a long-term plan.

“I plan to visit Iowa and Iowa State,“ he said. “I should have a top five by the end of my junior year and I plan to make a decision the summer before my senior year.”